I'm pretty new to the entire world of wine, but I am loving the adventure. I went to the Central Coast in CA for a weekend of tasting and had so much fun. I had a question that I couldn't get a response for. I'm also having a hard time finding the answer on the internet so I thought I would ask some experts. If you look at these wines (to follow) how would you rank them by body (like lightest body to heaviest body)? For me this matters as I'm tasting. I want to know if what I'm tasting is what I should be tasting. And I know body has more to do with feel and that there are a million other factors going on that affect what I'm tasting, but I would still love to have an answer for this question. So could somebody please take a little time and rank these wines from lightest to most full bodied? Thank you very, very much.

Now this is a great question... Foodie? These are my educated (or not so) guess based on my experience... It really depends the terroir, on the producer and the style. I have had really woodsy Cab Franc with incredible body and one that was smooth as silk... Whites are a bit more difficult for me as body can be masked by sweetness.

I won't venture an opinion on the whites but with reds I think generally Merlot,Grenache, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Franc are medium in body compared to Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Sangiovese, Zinfandel, and Petite Sirah. I haven't had enough Malbec to place it.

This is so interesting to me and it's similar to some of the responses I've gotten from people I've asked. The opinions seem quite varied. Isn't there a definitive answer out there? If there's not that's fine, and I'm not at all shooting down people's opinions and would love more of them.

Your question is indeed unanswerable in anything more than vague references to what we often expect of wines. But what we often expect is sometimes not what we get. In fact, there's no particular rule or reason for wines to be full bodied as opposed to light because even grapes that have a certain body and soul can be altered by the winemaker.

Having said that, I'll say this: here's your list changed to the order of boldness/lightness--as a complete and utter generality, which I am certain can be challenged.

I really like Foodie's list. I would make 2 simple switches and one more little change, all with the HUGE caveat that he knows way the hell more than I do. But, since you asked for more feedback...

I'd switch Petite Sirah and Malbec, and I'd switch Chenin Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc. I'd also move the light-bodied style of Riesling up a notch or two.

And Viognier just puzzles me. I don't really like it where it is, but I can't come up with anywhere else I'd like it! [img]http://www.wines.com/ubb/smile.gif[/img] Who cares about how it feels in the mouth anwyay? Just so long as it smells good!

And, as Foodie said and WW reiterated, a huge amount has to do with wine-maker factors as much as grape factors.

I thought Foodie would have a better result, but thought Id give it a stab. Its just that different styles by winemakers give different results. Last week at a Petit Sirah tasting I threw in a bottle of Groom Aussie Zin and someone swore to got it was a Syrah "no if's or but's about it"... I chuckled.

Thanks again guys. I really appreciate the responses. I'm from central California. My wine tasting experience has only taken over to the Paso Robles area. I tasted some good wines (and have tried some other wonderful ones at a local wine bar) and loved the entire experience.

This conversation will lead me into further questions I have about similarities of taste that I would love for you all to respond to as well please, but alas I'm chairing a meeting in two hours and I'm not prepared yet.

YIKES!!!

Please look for some more questions in the near future if you don't mind.